On 26 August 2011, the Financial Services Division of the Grand Court
of the Cayman Islands found that two former directors of a Cayman
Islands’ registered fund, Weavering Macro Fixed Income Fund Limited, had
acted in willful neglect or default of their duties as directors. As a
result of this judgment, the defendant directors were found personally
liable for losses of US$111 million sustained by the fund.
In the never-ending moves toward full disclosure, two powerhouse
financial centres, Hong Kong and the UK, have recently sought to
establish further clarification on what is required of onshore managers
and advisors of offshore funds to ensure their tax-free status.
Proxy advisors have been around for over twenty years and now play a
central role in corporate elections. For over half the world’s publicly
traded shares they are the force that transforms a shareholder’s
fundamental right to vote into reality.
Recently it seems that all the financial and economic news we hear has
been negative…well, even more so downright devastating.
The managing director of the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority recently announced that "anyone that thinks for one minute that increased regulation is not going to happen hasn’t been paying attention. Not only will it happen but I am confident that, if we are to stay in this game, we will have to adopt ALL of the regulations". These words reverberated around the world leaving stakeholders in Cayman financial services to contemplate a new era of regulation.
Recent corporate scandals, shareholder activism, media criticism and a call for the review of legislation have caused a re-examination of the role and accountability of directors. As a result, directors have become increasingly active in their oversight of corporate activities but, as more eyes focus on the board, it has become correspondingly more difficult to recruit qualified independent directors.